One More Tomb Raider
by Fanfiction108
Summary: What if Lara wasnt alone during her survival. What if she had help during her journey. What if that person was more to her than 'just help'. Lara and her companion have stranded on an island with seemingly no hope and must survive while keeping each other alive. LaraxOC. Follows Canon Plot of 2013 Reboot. WARNING: OCxLara
1. Prologue

**Hey guys. This is Fanfiction108 here. Not really expecting much from this story. I don't even know if you guys will like it, but I wanted to do this since the new reboot came out. Didn't want to upload it later when a sequel would come out, now would I? This will be my second story on this site, my other being a Devil May Cry fic. First some stuff I want to clear up.**

**The reason I was motivated to do this fic was because of Lara (the original) and her lack of Love Interests. Correct me if I'm wrong, but does it seem to me that every guy that likes her either gets rejected or dies. Seriously though, name me a man that has an actual relationship that DOESN'T end in tragedy and I'll do a fic about that. There are lots of LARAxSAM fics and I was shocked by that. Almost every NEW Lara story is about them two, except for one LaraxAlex (the new one). I read some of those femslash fics and some of them were pretty good, but I wouldn't know how to write those kinds of fics. I'm straight and I RESPECT those kinds of fics, but like I said, I'm still new and don't know how I feel about writing those. Though, they were pretty good J**

**Thank God that the new Lara seems nicer and kinder. I'm still bummed she didn't have a love interest so I gave her one. As stated, this will be a LaraxOC.**

** This story will be a 'what if' story as stated before. I will remain to the canon plot, but just what would happen if she had a little help. I felt kind of bad she had to go through all that stiff alone. **

**PLEASE, NO FLAMES. I'm still new to this site and I really appreciate positive advice and feedback, but flames…flames are hurtful man :'( Enjoy people.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tomb Raider cause if I did, Lara would have…I don't know, somebody to be with!**

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**One More Tomb Raider**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

**3****rd**** Person POV**

**A famous explorer once said…**

A boat is seen exiting a city with the words Endurance Plymouth written on the front.

**…that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are.**

A woman places her phone on a desk and then posts a map in her locker where other various picture hang.

**I'd finally set out to make my mark; to find an adventure.**

The woman closes the locker showing her perfectly smooth face and ear length brunette hair. Some of it can reach down to her neck and she looks into her reflection.

**But instead, adventure found me.**

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**Lara's POV**

I was currently listening to my music on my phone on my bed. Michael had gotten it for me last week and I was just getting used to it. Thinking about him put a smile to my face. I wanted to download the music I wanted while listening to them when I heard a thunder that was followed by rumbling on the ship. I took off one of my ear phones and was about to check and what the problem was when I was caught off guard as the ship rumbled even more, although this time it was even more violent. I was flung off of my bed and I hit my desk. Hard. It hurt like hell.

_'Damn it.'_ I thought. I got up from where I was flung and headed to my door, holding my bruised head. I had a slight concussion because I could feel a little dizzy. As I opened the door to my room, I was greeted by a sheer amount of water flooding the hallway. I raised my hands up in surprise and horror as I was swept away. I screamed as loud as I could before water filled my lungs.

**In our darkest moments…**

As I was drifting along the massive water current, I was trying desperately to breath. I saw a ladder and with a lucky grip, I grabbed onto it. I tightened my grip as I fought the rest of my body being swept away. I climbed up the ladder and swam at the same time and as I hit the surface, I took a deep, but short breath. I knew what I needed to do as I saw the hatch up top. I climbed the rest of the ladder and I pounded on the window of the hatch, knowing that it could only be opened from the other side.

**When life flashes before us…**

"Help!" I screamed. Not yelled, but screamed. I was so scared. I could feel the water rising and I did _NOT_ want to drown to death. I kept looking back at the water rising in fear and the window in hope that someone would come. I could feel the water go past my neck and I took one more breath before my whole body was completely engulfed in water.

**We find something;**

Even after air was deprived of me, I still kept banging on the window and screaming, my screams coming out as bubbles. Every second I could feel my life drain as I was out of oxygen.

Out of time.

As I closed my eyes and drifted off in the darkness, my last thoughts were of Michael and how I would never see him again.

**Something that keeps us going…**

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**Michael's POV**

_Moments earlier_

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

The storm is too much. The boat was coming down and fast. I had to get to Lara. I raced down the hallway ignoring the danger and I was trying to find a hatch that would lead me to the lower levels where Lara was.

_'Damn it,'_ I thought frustrated, '_where the hell is it. I am not leaving here without her.'_ For a moment, I figured that she was already leaving to a safer part of the ship with Roth, but I quickly dismissed that thought. She told me she would be in her room listening to music in the phone I got her. There's no way she known what was going on outside since I barely found out just a few seconds ago.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned my head around to find that it was the hatch that I needed.

_'Yes.'_ I allowed myself this small victory, but I sprinted down towards it. Lara was still under there and I still needed to get her. I slid on my knees, and was about to dive in when I noticed something.

Or rather someone.

It was Lara. She was underwater and had her eyes closed. And I was losing her. I could see her getting farther and farther away from me while sinking and drowning in the lower levels.

I could not lose her.

I opened the hatch as fast as I could and reached out to grab her. I felt her forearm in my hands and immediately pulled her up. I hoisted her out of the watery grave and she coughed up some water while gasping for air. I patted her on the back to help get rid of the liquid in her lungs.

**Something that pushes us.**

"Lara!" I called out to her. Even though we were close, the battle with the ship against the ocean's waves and the thunderstorm was loud enough to block out most of my yell. I looked up and saw Roth on the other part of the ship. The force of the Earth's most powerful disasters had completely torn the ship in two and Roth was on the other part. My eyes widened in horror as I quickly realized that our part of the ship was the one that was sinking.

"Come on Lara. I can't let you die." I pulled her up to stand. I saw Roth gesture his hand for us to run and get off of the sinking death trap.

"Lara!" I called out to her over the sound of the destruction happening outside of the Endurance. She looked at me with those beautiful eyes that made me seem like we were going to make it. NO! We are going to make it.

"RUN!" As I yelled out, I grabbed her hand and made a dash for Roth, all the while never letting go of her hand. We tripped and stumbled a few times, but never wavered from our sprint to the edge of the ripped ship. Waves crashing into the ship could be felt and heard. The faint smell of the ocean did nothing to calm me, but only strengthened my resolve to refuse death out in the world's oceans. As we neared the edge and readied ourselves for a jump to the other side, I heard Lara scream out and I also decided to voice my thoughts at the time which pretty much summed it up.

"AHHHHHH"

"SSSSHHHHIIIITTTT"

We both time the jump just right as we soared through the air. I tightened my grip on Lara's hand out of fear and comfort. Fear that I would lose her if I let go which was probably going to happen if I did. Comfort that I had the most important woman in my life as we tried desperately to get out of this hell.

As we neared Roth and the ship, Lara reached out for Roth's hand and I reached for the edge.

"UGH." The edges ripped and distorted ends met just below my neck and into my chest. I gasped in pain and barely had enough time to tighten my grip so I wouldn't fall.

It didn't work. I could feel the rain pouring all over us and onto the edge that I held onto. The rain was making it hard to hold on as it didn't give me enough friction. I could feel myself sliding off and losing my grip. I looked over and saw Lara holding onto Roth's hand and I released my grip on her reluctantly. I needed my other hand to grab more surface and make sure I wasn't lost in the dark depth of the ocean. It proved futile as I still could feel myself slipping.

I glanced over at Lara as she looked at me with fear in her eyes. She knew just as much as I did that I was falling. The only reason she wasn't was because Roth had a good grip on her hand, but even I could tell she was slipping through his hands by the seconds.

"HELP!" I cried out. I didn't want to die. Not like this. By now I was hanging onto my fingertips and I looked up at Roth. Roth couldn't get me since he was using both hands to hold himself and Lara. He looked at me with worry as he struggled to hold Lara and a look as if to say 'I'm sorry.' With the last of my strength to keep myself up as long as I could, I glanced at Lara. Her beautiful elegant British face that I had come to love was now scarred with horror. She knew I was going to fall to my death and she reached out to grab me.

"Grab on!" She wanted to save me. It was worth a shot. I couldn't hold on much longer and I was losing my strength to hold on. I swung my legs back. I needed to time it right. I swung towards her and let go. I altered my body and lurched forward to increase my range and hopefully grab onto her.

I didn't.

As I passed and reached for her, all I could feel was her smooth fingertips brush mine as I fell to my watery grave. I could make out her tears even in the rain as she saw me descend in the ocean.

"LAAAAAARAAAAAAA!"

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**Lara's POV**

"MICHAAAAAEEEEEEL!"

I saw the terrified expression written on his face as he fell and I heard him scream my name for what I thought would be the last time. I didn't even bother to hide my tears.

_'I just lost him. I lost my Michael.'_ I thought while crying. I could still picture his face as he descended into the ocean and it tore my heart in two. I couldn't believe what just happened. I couldn't. Unfortunately, I wasn't even given the luxury of time to grieve as I felt something dreadful.

I was losing my grip on Roth.

I looked up at his face one last time before the harsh storms took me from his grip.

I fell.

I screamed.

Then all was silent as I plunged into the ocean.

* * *

I gasped for air as I swam over the surface of the water for a few seconds, but was immediately pushed down due to the harsh waves.

_'Damn it'_ I thought, _'Come on!'_ I didn't want to die here. I didn't want to die period! I'm still alive and if I could survive the fall then Michael could've survived to. I had to keep going and to keep pushing forward if I wanted to see him again.

I breached above water again and held out long enough to see something.

Land.

Not only that, but I also saw a figure. I couldn't tell if it was man or woman, but they were laid out on the beach only a couple feet from the water like they were dead. It was pure luck that I caught a glimpse of whoever it was as the terrible storm, blistering wind and rain, and push of the waves made it hard to do anything! I made a quick survival decision to make my way over there before I was pulled back under again.

I swam underwater in the direction I saw the beach in. If I tried to resurface I would only get the same treatment I got the last two times. I would be stuck and probably drown out there. As I got nearer, I could feel the sand under my boots as I was brought to a crawling position and tiredly made my way to the figure. I felt a sense of dread sweep over me as soon as I recognized who it was.

It was Michael.

He was laid flat out on his back with his arms and legs stretched out. He had his eyes closed and he didn't have any facial expression. The rain was pouring all around his body as he just laid there. I already knew what happened, but I refused to lose him.

"Michael!" I exclaimed. I ignored my pain and sores and rushed over to him, kneeling at his right side. I put the side of my head to his chest to feel him breath. I clung on to his shirt, clawing at the fabric. I closed my eyes and attempted to drown out all the chaos that was happening around us. I needed to focus and feel his breathing. I needed him to be alive. I needed him to breath, to hold me, to say my name or…anything to prove he is alive.

He didn't.

'No.' I sadly thought. 'He can't be gone. He can't.' I didn't want to believe it, but he wasn't breathing. 'No! I won't lose him!' I knew the only reason he was like this and cursed myself for not acting sooner. He wasn't breathing because he couldn't. His lungs were filled with water. I would've realized earlier if I wasn't so caught up in this bloody disaster and if my mind wasn't so screwed up with what had happened in the last hour. Fortunately, I had taken lessons and knew what to do.

I scooted over to his head and tilted it back a little. I leaned down and captured his lips. I breathed out of my lips and into his, hoping that my CPR training worked. I had spent many times in this moment with Michael and always cherished moments like this except this time was different. This time his life depended on it, on me. I just hope he hasn't been drowning too long or else he might've been out of reach. I disregarded that thought and focused on saving Michael. I couldn't survive without him.

After I was done giving him 2 consecutive breaths, I focused on giving him the 30 chest presses. I put both my hands on his chest and quickly added weight and pressure on it. I had to do it in rapid sessions. I ignored everything else and focused on saving his life.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11…12-

I stopped my presses as I saw Michael spasm and jerk before spilling the water contents out of his mouth and splatter on the sides of his face. Filled with sudden hope that he was still alive, I grabbed his back, resisting the urge to hug the life out of him, and pulled him to a sitting position. I patted him roughly on his back as he grabbed his chest and continued coughing up the water. I was so relieved he was alive. Barely, but still. I put on a hopeful smile as he coughed up the last of the ocean's water and realized that I was the one who saved him. He turned his head to me and he had his eye widened, like he thought he was going to die. Well…he was, but I guess he didn't think anyone would save him.

"Lara." He called out through the thunder and rain. His voice was laced with disbelief and I knew for sure now he thought he was dead. Even through what we had just been through in such a short time, I couldn't help, but to crash my body into his as I hugged the living daylights out of him.

"Michael! You're alive!" I said. I literally felt him gasp at the hug. For a moment, I thought I had hurt him until he hugged me back and nuzzled my neck. I smiled a smile that reached both of my cheeks before I leaned my head into his shoulder. Somehow, we managed to drown out the noise and destruction for just that moment and held each other, glad that the other was okay. I treasured moments like this. I wanted it to last longer, but knew I had to find the others. I pulled back reluctantly and was about to speak my thoughts when I heard him.

"Lara, look." He said. He pointed at an angle upwards behind me and ushered me to see with his other hand. I looked at what had caught his eye before mines widened at what I saw.

It was the rest of the crew.

I don't know why I didn't see them earlier. Oh yeah because I was too busy saving Michael. I was so worried about him that I completely ignored my surroundings. They were all perched up on a min-cliff with a house next to it. They seemed to be in a state of shock and panic. I saw Reyes giving orders, obviously trying to keep people alive and calm, but it wasn't working. I could see Whitman ignoring her and Jonah frantically walking around trying to help.

I looked back at Michael, staring into his eyes.

"I got them. You stay here." I said. He nodded his head, simply trusting me, and I got up to call out for them. I put my hands on the sides of my mouth and yelled out.

"Reyes! Jonah!" I screamed. They didn't hear me, much less acknowledge me. They were too far away. They weren't near me enough to hear me like Michael. They were too busy conversing with themselves to notice me and him stranded just a few meters away. With all the loud sounds the storm and weather were making, I'm not surprised they didn't hear me.

I was about to turn around and gesture Michael to come with me when I felt a sharp pain and force on the side of my head. As I fell and lost consciousness, the last thing I saw was Michael, laid out in the sand just like I was and then darkness took me for a second time that day.

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**Yay. Please Review and remember. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please leave it in a review and ill post a response next chapter or PM me and I'll see it. **

**Peace out guys**

**\(- -)/**


	2. Let's Get the Hell Out of Here

**Hey guys. I'm back with another chapter. No I haven't given up on this.**

**IMPORTANT NOTES: I will update this story every Friday. Or at least I will try to.**

**I want your guys opinion on the character personality so far. I know that the new Lara is more nicer than the last (or at least that's what I'm portraying her as). I will add a mini-Bio for Michael next chapter explaining his personality, looks, past, and the basics of who he is. The reason it doesn't seem like he has much to separate him from other background characters is because its still sort of the intro. They were in a serious mood and trying to get out. I'll put more emotion next chapter.**

**REVIEWS:**

**lazarus wolf: Thank you for the review. Mike was away at the time doing some stuff I didn't need to put tin there. I needed him to be the one to rescue Lara since they seemed to forget that guy in the beginning. What if she just left that guy though (0-0). And I will add more intimacy. Now just isn't the right time since they were trying to live. I have a plan next chapter though. Thanks J**

**backfromthedead91: I'm glad you like it. Yes I agree that Lara does need to be independent from time to time or that would take away some of the originality in her. Don't worry. I'm basing the story off the game directly so I do have plans on different scenarios regarding things from their relationship to their survival. Like what you said. They WILL get split from time to time adding more action to the story and even more different aspects. Hmmmm. Yeah. I want Alex to live too so we'll see how my future self makes that happen. Pairings. Idk yet. Lol. Yeah Roth is one of the many that I will keep. Thanks by the way.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tomb Raider. There is a lot of things I don't own though.**

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**One More Tomb Raider**

**Chapter 2: Let's Get the Hell Out of Here.**

**Michael's POV**

"Michael."

Huh. That was strange. I thought I heard a voice call my name, but it was very faint. Like a whisper and an echo.

"Michael."

There it was again except a little stronger. I tried to open my eyes to see where it was coming from, but I was too woozy. It was like my eyelids were being weighed down by my fatigue. It was a good thing I could feel myself getting my strength back because I could sense a few things. I could feel something wrapped around me like a sheet and I could feel some blood rushing to my head. Like I was…suspended from the ground. Ugh I felt so worn out.

"Michael!"

I immediately snapped my eyes open and confirmed my suspicions as I took in my surroundings. I was right. I was suspended. A few meters off the damn ground! And again I was right. I tilted my head down to see that I was wrapped up in some sort of cloth that was held together by rope. Only my head was left exposed. I looked down and could barely see some light that was reflecting the water at the bottom. It was heavily surrounded by bones that creeped me out. I looked to my sides and found something totally weird. There was a shrine of some sort and a little shelf that held a _bunch_ of candles. Above it were strange markings and to its sides were a lot of skulls. Human skulls! What the hell!

My mind flashed back to events that had happened earlier at the beach. I saw Lara calling Reyes for help and tried to get up, but I found myself worn out. Nearly drowning can do that to you, you know. I laid down on the sandy surface and could feel myself relax a little at the notion that help would arrive. I closed my eyes, hoping to find _some_ relaxation with the shit that had happened. I felt someone near me and opened my eyes thinking that it was Lara. I was wrong. I didn't get a good look at him because the bastard had greeted me with a boot to my face. The force of it and the pain I felt had caused me to get knocked out. I didn't even get a chance to warn Lara. I could've avoided it if only I had my strength that time. Damn it.

I looked to my other side and found the person who had been calling me.

"Lara!" I damn near yelled. I looked at her and saw she was in the same position as I am. She looked a little messy. I could only see her face, but I could tell she had been dragged here in the dirt just like I had. She had some mud on her face and her pony-tail was dangling from being upside-down. Even so, she still looked just as beautiful as ever. I don't know what it was about it, but she could still be able to keep her beauty while I probably looked like a pile of shit. Is it wrong that I was thinking she looked cute while we were both probably in a bad situation?

I shook my whole body in an attempt to get out, but it was no good. Even though it didn't look like it, the wrappings were pretty tough. That and I couldn't move my arms while inside the damn thing. Lara seemed to be in the same position as I was.

"Help!" I heard her call. She seemed to think that someone was here with us. I really hope not. I dony know why, but being in a place this creepy…I don't want to meet the resident people.

While she kept calling for help and tried to squirm her way out, I was trying to wiggle myself free also. I could feel the end of the sheet on my shoulder. If I could get my arm past it, I could have more chance to get out of…whatever the hell this is.

I started squirming anyway I could, all the while hearing Lara call out for someone to come and get us. Since we were upside down, I hoped that gravity would be on my side. I kept arching my back, flexing my legs, hell…I even tried to spin. Emphasis on _tried_. I cursed and muttered under my breath as I could not find a way to get loose of the damn thing.

"Michael, stop!" I heard Lara call again. I ignored it. I was a bit pissed off that wrappings were getting the best of me. I didn't even know what this shit was. I started flexing my muscles to the point of soreness, hoping I could slip out at least. It wasn't too long after that I felt something at my side. It was like a steaming, burning sensation. My eyes widened in realization as I looked down…up…well, I looked at where my ribs would be and saw some shit that was insane.

I was on fire!

It must've been during my struggle that it had happened. I was too focused on getting myself out of that damn thing I didn't notice the fire. I was so pissed I was swinging without even realizing it. It wasn't technically my fault, but none of that really mattered. I was on fire damn it! I quickly thought of something that translated what I felt.

"HOLY SHIT! I'M ON FIRE! OH SHIT!" I squirmed harder than I did the last time while screaming my damn ass off. I could feel the heat and it was slowly building up. On top of that I was sweating the hell off my-

"AHHH!" Which is what I yelled as the damn sheet ripped open and I plummeted down to the floor. I hit the boards that were covering absolutely nothing and it hurt like a bitch. "UGH." Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. The boards couldn't hold my weight and I crashed right through. I soared through the air and landed flat on my back with the murky water splashing below me. I didn't even get a chance to voice my pain as I narrowly dodged the boards from impaling on my face. A little later and I could've had my head taken clean off.

I panted a little, having to act quickly. I looked back at the boards, realizing I had cheated death a little. I slowly got up to look back at Lara. I clutched my ribs a little at the pain from the fall, but ignored it. Damn it, I was so high up.

"Michael! Are you okay?!" Lara yelled out. I could practically feel the worry in her words.

I put my hands on the sides of my mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine!" Okay so it was a little lie, but I couldn't have her worrying. I could still see her struggling and the pained expression on her face. "Do you think you can get down?! I can't really reach you, you know!" After I said that, she stopped altogether. She looked to the side away from me and I could tell she was in deep thought. She didn't answer me for a few seconds and I was wondering what was wrong. I regretted my question when I finally heard her.

"No, I can't, but I think…I think I can try what you did!" What the hell! My eyes widened a little as she caught me by surprise. She wanted to catch on fire? I didn't even mean to do that! It was completely accidental!

"What? Lara are you-"

"I know what you're thinking, but I don't see any other way! You can't reach me from there and I don't see a way you could! The fire must've burnt the bloody thing off of you before it had enough time to burn you to a crisp. Let me do this." She muttered the last part and I could still see the worried look on her face. It really made my heart turn a little at that. Would I really let her? Matter of a fact, I really couldn't stop her. Like she said, there wasn't really a way to reach her and we needed to get out of here fast before whoever brought us here came back. I only saw one of them, but my mind quickly deduced that there were two of us. Whoever flung us up there couldn't have dragged both of our bodies down here. Unless they were some super-heavyweight, that person must've had a few buddies. My thoughts shifted over to what would happen if she did. The only reason my fall hurt was because I hit the boards and the ground _hard_. Since the boards were gone, I would be there to catch her when she fell, but what about the fire? It burnt a lot, but I couldn't feel any of it anymore. Ah who am I kidding? I can't treat her like a little girl. She's grown and she knows that I know she can handle a little pain.

My mind made up, I put my hands back to my mouth and yelled, "Okay, but I'm going to catch you! Just be careful and be ready!" I saw her nod her head before she started swinging back and forth to a log where the fire had spread.

My heart beated fast as I saw her get closer and closer to the flames. I readied myself into a position somewhere below her while being mindful of the bones and desecrated objects near me. The momentum from her swinging would cause her to fall at a slight angle and I had to be ready to catch her. She finally made it close enough to the fire and as she swung away from it, I could see a small flame begin to form. I was amazed at how quickly it spread all over Lara and my heart raced as I thought something was wrong. She was screaming a little and I was feeling fear at the thought that she was in pain and I couldn't do anything. I erased that feeling and sprung into action as I saw Lara's covering rip open and she began her descent. _'Shit.'_ I thought. I was right. She _had_ come at an angle and I had to adjust my place to catch her. I held my arms out and leaned back a little to make sure I could catch her. And I did.

But as we landed, I could feel an even greater, more _searing_ pain in my side as I felt what could only be described as something sharp as hell impaling me.

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**Lara's POV**

Moments earlier I had been caught on fire and plummeted into Michael's waiting arms. It was a little exhilarating just falling through the air like that, but I knew he would catch me.

As I landed on top of him, I heard the loudest scream come from his mouth.

"FUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!"

Worry and fear soon overcame me and I made a mad dash off of him to see what had happened. Maybe I had come out wrong and had broken something. I didn't want to be the cause of Michael's pain. The thought had just escaped my mind as I watched in disbelief at what had happened.

Right through Michael's left side was a sharpened, silver rod. The rod was almost a foot long and was buried deep in his body, just a little bit off to the side of his ribs. The impact had splattered blood all over his shirt and both ends were jutting out through him. He got up into a seating position and was clutching his spot hard, making sure not to touch it. He stared back down at it with the same disbelief I had on all the while screaming curses. "HOOLLLYY SHIT! AHHHHH GOD DAMN IT!" He was groaning in pain and he was making a painful expression.

I quickly made my way to his side and put my hands on his back and chest, careful to watch the injury. "Michael!" I knew he was hurt pretty bad. The wound was still seeping a little blood and some got on my hands, but I didn't care about that.

Michael had gotten over his shock and was now just breathing rapidly and muttering some cuss words. I couldn't imagine the torture he was in right now. The only other times I could think of when he was like this were the times that Roth trained me and him. He had challenged a drunken Roth to a bar fight when we went out to celebrate Michael's birthday. They were both stumbling drunk and where my Michael had energy, Roth had skill and experience. Needless to say, I had to be the one to break up the fight before Roth could accidently kill him, but he was still badly banged up. In the morning Roth had apologized and all was forgiven. There were only a few other times that could _nearly_ compare, but I remember all the cuts and bruises that Michael suffered and it did not compare to having a bloody rod protruding out of your body.

Michael made a face at the wound, glaring at it like it was supposed t go away. He was grasping it hard too. "Shit. It hit the skin. No major organs or nothing so…that's something. God damn." I stared at the ground coming up with something to do. Shit. Okay think Lara. He was right. It didn't hit any organs and just nicked him. It still looked horrible, but he was right. It could be worse. Okay, there aren't any medic supplies lying around and I don't have any of my equipment. Damn it all. Why did this have to happen-

"Lara, you've got to take it out."

I snapped my head so fast, I thought it would break. Did he just say-? "What?"

He looked at me for a second or two. It hadn't taken him, but a few seconds to come up with that…plan? Should I even call it that? He could see my disbelief as clear as day. "Lara, this thing is stuck inside me and we have to get out of…wherever the hell this is. Having this thing," he gestured to the rod while flinching in pain, "will slow me down. I can't do it Lara. I can't pull it out. Please."

Damn it. He's right. It was most likely a flesh wound considering the miracle that it had impaled him on the side. We _did_ need to get out of here and find the others, but I didn't want to do this. It would feel like _I_ was the one hurting him. I couldn't do that. On second thought, I did land on him. I'm the one who collapsed on top of him. I caused him to fall on it and get injured. Guilt spread through me like a virus as I knew I had to hurt him a second time.

"Lara it'll be like a band-aid or a splinter. Just do it quick okay." I looked into his eyes and even though I wanted, pleaded with myself to reject the idea, I knew he was right. We had to hurry up and get out of here

I strengthened my resolve and positioned myself in front of him. I firmly grasped the end of it with both hands and made one last look at Michael before I did the deed. '_Okay, it's just like a band-aid.'_ I had to do it quick. If I didn't, Michael would be forced through even more pain.

With one quick and powerful yank, I pulled the silver bastard out of Michael. I could hear the sound of steel against flesh as I did it. He made a very deep gasp of discomfort and reeled his head back. I quickly threw the damn thing as far away as I could, hearing a clang in the process, and as fast as lightning, wrapped my arms around him. I made sure not to touch his fresh wound. I could hear him pant like a dog while he brought his arms out to give me a death hug. I did the same. I could just picture him gritting his teeth.

I didn't mean to. If I had known the damn thing was there, I wouldn't have even considered it. Now Michael is injured and it's my fault. I would normally brush it off, but this isn't something like a stubbed toe. The only times I had hurt him were when we had fights. What couple doesn't? It was mostly verbal. Like recently, he had confronted me about cheating on him. I won't go into detail, but I would never do that to him and, at the time, I was offended. In the end he didn't believe me and I had slapped him for not putting his trust in me. It was only later that it dawned on me that he wasn't only angry, he was sad. Pained that he thought I had betrayed him. I set aside the foolish argument and hugged the life out of him, telling him I'm sorry. Even so though, a little slap was nothing compared to _this_. If only…I could've…

"I'm sorry." I said sadly. It was my fault. I caused him the injury. He seemed to get at what I was meaning and pushed me away a few inches to look at me.

"Don't be," He said, "it's not like you knew that was going to happen. Its fine." I still wasn't convinced.

"I know but-" I was immediately silenced when he brought me down to his lips and kissed me. I eased into it by closing my eyes and running my hands through his hair. He was so gentle in the act. All that could be heard in the small cave was the sound of water dripping and lips smacking. I loved moments like this. Only he could do this. Make it seem like I was the only thing that mattered in the world to him. He meant so much to me as well.

I he pulled away so we could only catch our breath. He cupped my cheeks and made a serious, yet gentle gaze at me. "It's. Fine." He emphasized the two words and I knew there was no argument. He was dead set on me not taking the blame. The guilt was still there, but for him I would swallow it and endure.

I nodded my head in understanding. "Okay." I smiled at him. He smiled back at me.

He gave me one last quick peck on the lips. "Good. Now, please help me up. It still hurts like a bitch." He said that last part with a grin.

I gave a small giggle at that before helping him up and changing attitude. We still had to get out of here. He made a few groans, but he assured me he was fine. I swung his arm left arm over me and held him by his chest and back. We were both wet from getting stuck in the water, but didn't care.

* * *

**Michael's POV**

Damn it hurts like Hell. As we walked, or more like limped in my case, with Lara at my left, I was struggling not to collapse. The pain was excruciating. I was fighting not to just call it quits right there. Try and have a fucking spear shot right through you. It ain't a joke. Try and picture that specific area of your body and a fucking scorching as sensation times ten. Not the best description, but shit. I had to hold in my whimpers and gasps as we traveled to the entrance of the cave. The only reason that I didn't voice it or show it was because Lara was with me. I didn't want her to worry and knew she probably would do the same.

I stumbled a few times and Lara had to catch me. I had to reassure her that I was fine. I just hoped we could last until we got some real help and medical supplies or until the wound healed up.

When we got to the middle of the 'hallway', we saw something straight out of a cult event. There was a woman tied up in the air. Her hands were tied diagonally and left her feet dangling, making a 'Y' shape. All around her there were candles lit, skulls stacked behind her, and even a full skeleton or two. It smelled a horrible smell of decay. There was some sort of image behind her. It looked like it was made from chalk, but I couldn't tell what it was. The whole scene was like a sacrifice or something. The woman was obviously dead and gone.

"Oh God no." I heard Lara whisper next to me. I agreed. Whoever or whatever had dragged us here was not in the mood for a tea party.

"Come on," I grunted, still feeling the after effects of the injury, "all the more reason to get the hell out of here." She nodded her head and tore away her gaze from the sight. Whoever did this was a sick fuck. In fact, why would anyone do this? I blacked out my thoughts as we continued on in the cave and made our way past the sight.

Just as we were about to leave, I saw Lara grab a lit torch from a holder on the side of the rocky wall. "We'll need to see where we're going." She said. I couldn't agree more. Caves equal darkness and darkness equals bad shit happening. I hate the dark with a fucking passion, but not because of a childhood trauma event, but because it could never see what was in front of me. I didn't know what was lurking in the dark. Not knowing that something could jump out at any moment and I wouldn't even know because I couldn't see. Shit it still made me a little frightened.

.

Okay so maybe I _am_ afraid of the dark, but only in complete darkness. Big whoop. A smart man once said that all fears are actually irrational. What are you going to do about it, hate me for showing emotion?

We stopped at a little barricade and I mentally groaned. It was a rugged one, but it was piled with so much stuff. I was about to say something when Lara stepped forward. I leaned against the wall for support and watched her bring the torch's hot flames to burn away the wooden boxes and planks. She looked back at me with a small smirk when it all came tumbling down in flames before turning to ash. I hopped over to her to regain our original stance.

I had clumsily kicked a bottle on accident and it tumbled away making a loud clang noise. I was about to make a comment when I heard…mumbling. And it was coming from far off in the distance, not from Lara. I heard it somewhere past the cracks in the rocks and looked back at my girl. We exchanged a look that said 'keep moving'. So we did just that.

We made our way through the narrow corridor of the cave and I was already feeling slightly better. Not a lot, but a little. It was starting to ease up and I sighed a bit. At least I won't be in pain for long.

Shit. We were near a small gap in the narrow 'hallway' when we heard what sounded like metal moving against metal. It was loud and echoed in the cave. "Shit," I cursed out, "whoever it was must've heard me." Lara urged me to keep moving. The look on her face said that she didn't want to get caught anytime soon. We both edged our way into the narrow gap, with me having more trouble, and Lara's torch went out from the water that cascaded down the gap.

Oh. Shit.

The good thing was is that it wasn't _that _dark in here, but it only calmed me a little. I heard Lara cuss from the action as we both entered the 'room'. It was knee deep in water and had various things splattered everywhere. I could see another damn barricade with red barrels just a couple feet higher than where we were at. How the hell could someone live here? This place was a dump. Although it is an uncharted island for all I know so I should expect the worse. I watched Lara re-light the torch from a nearby bowl of flame, hanging from a mini-pole jutting out of the side of the wall.

She looked at me. "Wait here. I'm going to try to blow up the blockade." She said. I nodded, knowing she knew what she was doing. We were both trained by Roth after all. I just hope the damn cave doesn't collapse from the blast. Shit. Being trapped underground in the dark scares me.

Okay so I'll just stand here and do nothing then. I saw her jump to the makeshift balcony to the left of where we came from. She hopped up and I couldn't help, but look at her well shaped butt. Damn, I cant help it if I'm a man. She lit the log that was connected to the barricade and jumped back down to join me again. We ran to the gap, the farthest thing from the waiting explosion. We both watched as the fire spread over the log and down to the barricade. The red barrel caught aflame and I knew shit was going to happen. I've played enough games and watched enough movies with Lara to know it would blow up.

However, I didn't know the size of the explosion.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

The blast radius was big. Really big. The barrel had exploded with a loud bang and had forced out multiple wood planks that had caught on fire. The top of the barricade remained aflame while Lara and I had to dodge the few planks that had made their way to our spot. I knew for a fact that somebody must've heard that. Oh well, too late now. It was just then that I noticed the whole fucking place falling apart. Dust coming of the cracks above us, boulders shifting and fist sized rocks falling. I side stepped to avoid one that would've gave me a serious headache. This whole place was coming down!

"Come on." Lara called out as she lifted my arm back over her shoulders. We trotted down to the barricades edge and I climbed up first, ignoring the white hot pain of the fresh injury. We really needed to get out and I would not get trapped down here with falling debris. The wound didn't stop me from clumsily rolling while I grabbed my wound. The training with Roth had made me endure more pain than a normal human, but only so limited. It didn't mean it didn't sting.

I saw Lara climb up as well, albeit more swiftly. We made our way to the ragged, small hole of an entrance that looked like it was barely holding. I was a bit cautious about going, but I overcame it with will power. I was not going to die down here and so I wouldn't allow Lara either.

I crouched down, careful with my wound, and made it past the gap with slight ease. The other side was the same height so I had to stay in the crouching position as I waited for her. Lara did the same, but before I could hold back onto her, something came up from behind and snagged her leg. She tripped and fell on her stomach as the figure tried to pull her back in. "Ahhhhh. Help. Michael!" She called out to me while clawing at the dirt below us, refusing to get dragged back there. I didn't have time to get the sight of whoever it was as my instincts kicked in. He was trying to hurt Lara. My Lara. Anger flared up as I took action, completely ignoring the pain in my side. I ran as much as I could while crouching up to the hole, which was closing by the minute, and gave a hard uppercut to the guy. I was grabbing my puncture wound with my left and switched all my strength to my right arm as it connected with the guy's jaw. I could see him let go and stumble backwards on his ass as Lara crab-walked out of harm's way, seconds before the rocks collapsed on the entrance.

I helped Lara get to her feet. "Holy shit that was close." She said. I couldn't agree more. I could hear the guy ramble about something, but couldn't make it out. It didn't matter. I was pissed at that guy for what he tried to do. Didn't he know the damn thing was collapsing?

We ignored the man's protests and made our way further down the cave, hoping to get out as soon as possible. As we traveled down the path, which was painful for me as I had to add weight on my wound because I was crouching, we felt a shift in the steepness of the ground and saw water. I knew we still had to keep going and hoped we didn't travel to a dead end. We kept going and I felt the water travel up my feet to my shins then my knee.

And wouldn't you know another fucking barricade. Although I thank god that it wasn't as packed as the other two, meaning we could get around it. I saw Lara go first and immediately slip as she got past it. I became worried, but she told me, "Its fine. Just be careful." Be careful she says and I'm here worried for her, although I did still have an injury so I guess I could let it slide. I made my way past it and searched for the slip. I navigated my way down and eased into the new position. Now the water level was up to my freaking chin. I had to tilt my head a little bit ad it didn't help that it was freezing.

I grabbed Lara's hand underwater and gave it a firm grip. Lara looked back at me and smiled as we went even further down the passage way. She kept the torch above the water and I was grateful for that. Having her with me by my side made it a little better. I couldn't imagine doing this without her. What if she didn't have me and had to do this alone? That thought made me a little concerned. Could she handle herself if I wasn't here? I put that thought aside for later.

We got to the exit, the steepness returned to a perfect elevation. We stood up and I enjoyed the relief from my wound. Lara gave my hand a tug as I followed her to the opening. And just our luck, there was a water fall that had snuffed out her torch. Thankfully though there was a blurred light coming from behind the water fall so I relaxed as I knew I wouldn't be trapped in the dark. It appeared that the light was actually coming from behind some kind of gate guarded by some barrels to the left. Water flowed through it and the barrels were pressed against the gate. The water carried crates and other useless items into the gate. Where the hell did it lead to and who needed this shit anyway? To the right was another water fall (I'm getting tired of these just like barricades) and some sort of shack behind it. I followed Lara past the water and made it to the miniature house with a ramp. The walkway spiraled and led to some kind of junk disposal about a story high. There was a little slide that led from the disposal to the gate, but I couldn't climb that. Lara relit the torch on a nearby flame-bowl (thank Jesus) and we made our way up the ramp to a gondola-like device except this was different. It didn't seem to go anywhere and looked like it was being held down by some rope tied held down by two pieces of wood.

Lara took a step forward and lit the both of them on fire. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked still clutching my side. It wasn't a hostile question, just a curious one.

Lara looked at me by turning her head. "Lighting it on fire. What does it look like?" Okay she got me there.

"But…why?" I didn't see the need to do this. It didn't hurt, but it also didn't help.

"Well I don't see any other way." She argued. I was about to reply back, but saw that the gondola had lifted. In the process, something else had dropped in front of it. It was like an 'L' shaped homemade board of metal. It dropped into the water, stopping the crates and barrels in the process. O-kay. Why did someone need this again?

I saw Lara's face brighten up a bit before turning to me. She seemed to have a light smile on her face. "Wait here. I think I got a plan." Before I could say anything, she was off on the spiraling and rising walkway. My eyes followed her with a raised eyebrow. She got to the end which was the 'junk disposal' and stopped. She seemed to be planning something and looked from the gondola to the disposal to the metal wall, which was slowly building up useless crates. After a few seconds of looking back and forth, she surprised me when she jumped onto the gondola, her weight bringing it down. In turn, it brought the metal wall/basket up carrying some items of no value which tumbled into the disposal. I still had my eyebrow raised and still clutched my sides as she dropped down and ran right past me up the walkway again. "Just hold on." She assured me. She stopped at the disposal again before lighting up the crates and shit that was in there (I love that torch). The items went aflame and Lara took one step back before ramming into the disposal, exiting out to the slide and dumping into the water.

I mentally face-palmed as it somehow managed to keep on fire in the cool water. I remember Roth once saying something about how wood _could_ stay alit even in a liquid. Something about it having to float so the water doesn't fully put out the flames, leaving just enough above the water level to stay aflame. I forgot why we needed it though. I remember Roth and I having a sparring match and I had my ass handed to me. I was so tired I blanked out for the lesson, but didn't care. Seriously, who needs to learn it?

Apparently Lara did as the fire filled crates collided with the gate and lighting the red barrels on fire. Oh shit! The red barrels! I almost forgot as I made my way to the edge of the ramp, leaning on some planks with my left hand. "Lara. Come on." I gestured with my hand. Lara dropped down into the water and quickly leaped forward as I caught her in a one-hand hug, ignoring the pain in my side, just as soon as the barrels went off.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

Damn those things were loud. I looked over to see the gate clearly blown in. The metal had jutted inward from the blast, allowing a clear path for us. Lara released from the embrace and grabbed my hand. "Come on," she said, "We have to get out of here."

Once again, I couldn't agree more. "Got it. Let's hurry up and get out of this place." She tugged me to follow her with her left hand while she held the torch up high with her other. It felt good to hold her even as we made our way out of this death trap.

It seemed the place had the same effects as the last blast. The rocks started to come tumbling down all over the place and it felt as if an earthquake was happening. I tried my best to hurry up in the knee deep water as Lara urged me on. I saw out of the corner of my eye a part of a plane had fallen and landed in right next to the slide. I hurried my feet to get out of this collapsing cave.

We made it past the gate and back to the dry dirt as I saw what was making that light and to the right was another path. It was a small gap big enough for a person. The light was shining through like a beacon. Lara and I could easily slip right through. As we were a few steps away though, a damn boulder smashed right above it, blocking the escape.

"Oh come the fuck on!" We just couldn't catch a break. Lara seemed to have predicted this would happen with the whole place coming down and pulled me along with her to the right rocky hallway. I focused back on our path as we broke out into a run going further down the way. I made a dash and sprinted as long as I could, hoping to ignore the pain. As we ran, I saw yet another light at the end of the tunnel. It was just the same as the other one, bright white light pouring out. We both ran as fast as we could, Lara's hand never leaving mine. I could feel the rumbling beneath my feet and saw the rocks crumble, shift, turn, shake and all the while making loud booming noises. I knew if we didn't get out soon, we would end up like fucking mashed potatoes.

We got to the end of the tunnel and were a few steps away when all of the sudden, the floor gave out. "Shit!" I briefly cursed. I thought we were going to plummet to our deaths, but to my luck we didn't. it only gave out a foot or two. However, below us when we landed was a steep rocky floor that made us slide all the way down. The surprisingly smooth surface and mud made it bearable as I followed Lara close behind on this sliding trip. We spent a couple seconds maneuvering our way and dodging falling chunks of debris when I saw another FUCKING BARRICADE! Well it wasn't exactly a barricade. It was more like a bunch of braches and wood mashed together, but they were still blocking our path damn it.

Lara made a move and reeled her feet back as she slid on the surface. Just as she was about to make contact with the blockade, she forced her feet out, amazingly knocking it down. I followed along as she slid up to a standing position and so did I. I was ignoring the pain in my right side with adrenaline and sheer will power. I refused to die down here and I wouldn't let Lara either.

I grabbed her hand as I ran past her and pulled her with me. "Come on!" I said. I looked at my surroundings hoping to find a way out. There was a small river flowing past below us and back where we came from. If it was flowing down then that means that it had to come from some place high. Since we were underground that spelled sanctuary. I made a dash and followed the river, pulling Lara with me. I rounded a corner and fuck me, another gaping hole with light shining through. Oh well better than nothing. Hopefully nothing bad will happen this time right?

This time, I was the one dragging Lara as we jerked and dodged the rocks and house-sized boulders that collapsed through. Now it felt as if this place was bound to fall apart any damn second! Shit was falling and shattering into other shit. It was like the Earth had decided to throw up all over us. I sprinted towards the path that would lead us to the light, but then a rocky cliff had lost to gravity as it landed on the ground in front of us. It didn't hold out and smashed right through. Now we ended up with a wide ass gap between us and the light. It was then I realized that it didn't even lead to the light! It lead to somewhere way in the back so far, I couldn't even see. And in between us and the back were house-sized gaps that would result in our death if we missed. One wrong move or slip and we would fall into the darkness. Damn, but it was our only shot. This is where the real training kicked in.

I looked back at Lara and let go of her hand. "We got to jump!" I called out through the destruction. She nodded full of confidence and gave me a quick "Right" as we made a full out sprint and made a leap to the edge of the other side. I remember how the last leap made me end up landing in water and nearly dying. It was only a miracle Lara was there to find and help me. Shit. We both barely made it as we gripped onto the side with our hands. I pulled myself up when I noticed that same pain in my side, but drowned it out. I had to get out of here. We kept running as I saw half of a ship go down into the abyss on my right. We jumped again onto the other platform, albeit easier this time. We landed on our feet and I only stumbled just a little. We kept moving our feet and ignored the damage happening around us. We both knew this was all or nothing. We made the final gap and jumped as much as my legs could take me. This one was exceptionally long, but I just made it by the fingertips and so did Lara. We pulled ourselves up and ran right past the front of another ship. I saw another huge boulder that was being held up begin to fall. I slid underneath it before it could crush me and I made way for Lara to do the same.

She slid onto her stomach and before she could get up, she was quickly grabbed by the same. Damn. Guy.

* * *

**Lara's POV**

I don't know how we have made it this far. Usually in training, Roth would set up obstacles for us and we would have to try everything to get around it. This was nothing like that at all. This was a real life or death situation. I hoped our luck wouldn't run out soon.

As I dove for the small gap that was hopefully the exit, I felt something grab onto my foot and start pulling me back in. I turned around on instinct and saw the exact same guy that had tried to do this earlier. What the bloody hell was his problem. Did he not see that the place was caving in? "Let go of me you bastard!" I tried desperately to wriggle out of his grasp. I felt Michael grab me under my shoulders and tried to get me out as well from his clutches. I tried to flex my legs in and out, thinking I could get it loose enough to kick him and make him lose his grip. I could feel him actually slipping as Michael added more strength in his grasp. I don't even know how he could manage with his injury. There it is. I did it. I managed to get my right leg free, but that was all I needed to connect my boot with the bastards face.

He immediately let go and I heard him howl in pain, but didn't dare to look back. I knew we were leaving him to die, but I had no choice. That man was crazy. Living down here, probably killing anyone who came here. He tried to kill me! I heard a big thud and crunch behind me, but didn't llok to se. We had to get out of here fast and there was no time to dwell on it.

I grabbed Michael's hand and led him through the death maze. All around us, there were tons of ball-sized rocks coming down and we had to dodge each of them. If one hit us, we could get knocked out or worse with the way things are going down here. I raised the torch that I still had and jogged right through, careful not to hit anything that might come crashing down on us. As we made our way further down the seemingly only exit, I noticed something horrendous.

The sides were closing on us. It was like some sort of trap. Both sides, left and right, were coming together to squeeze us to death. I ran as fast as I could, bringing Michael with me. When I saw it branch out into another place that had yet another gap, I doubled my pace. This floor on the other end was steep. I would have to get a good start f I wanted to grab onto something. "Jump!" I yelled at him. And we did. I leapt forward and let go of his hand to get some grip on the other end. I slammed face first into the mud and dirt and felt Michael do the same. I let go of the torch to get a better grip, but it didn't help. I couldn't grab onto anything. There wasn't anything to grab onto! As a result, I slid down into the waiting abyss, clawing at the ground to stay and live. It wasn't enough and I fell to my death, into the darkness.

Or I would've if he hadn't caught me. I don't know how he managed to stay up there without slipping off, but Michael had. Just as I was about to get out of reach, he dove forward on his belly shot out his arm at me like a rocket and latched onto my right wrist, just at the edge of the cliff. I looked at where he could've gotten assistance and found it. Between the cracks of two rocks was some sort of twig or weed that was large enough to hold onto his big form. The edge of the cliff helped a little as it was only a little elevated. I must've been going too fast from the slip that I brushed past it. I felt the resistance of gravity and force as he quickly pulled me up to his side. I briefly caught the pained expression on his face again as he scrunched up and let out a loud groan. It was probably his injury. I would get t fixed up _when_ we get out of here.

Because of the floor being so bloody messed up, we had to crawl and thank god I found another light way. I briefly glanced over my shoulder and saw Michael crawling straight behind me. I could feel the sludge and mud in my fingernails but I didn't care. It was a long way, but damn it we were going to make it. As I was already halfway there, my heart skipped a beat as I saw a massive boulder drop and slide down towards us. I didn't have time to look at Michael as I screamed out, "WATCH OUT!" I narrowly dodged to the side and barely missed it. Fear consumed me as I looked down, but was replaced with relief as I saw Michael still there waiting for me. I looked back up and continued my ascent. Now the floor had been nothing, but gravel and hurt like hell. The small pebbles and dust could be felt on my back as I climbed my way out of here. All I could hear was the loud booming that signaled that this place was being destroyed by the minute. I stopped when I saw another big rock come for us again. I groaned mentally and called out, "HERE IT COMES AGAIN!" I dodged it for a second time as I briefly watched it go past me and, Thank God, Michael as well.

I kept clawing and climbing, getting ever so close to the final exit. I forced my already aching limbs to keep on striving to survive. I had to make it. I was so close. I couldn't die now. Oh no. The exit. It was closing. A boulder was pushing down on it and it was closing! God damn it. I refuse to die down here and I refuse to let Michael in the same fate. Shit. The light. Its dimming down. Darkness is closing in on us. I have to make it. Almost there.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

I gasped out as I felt fresh air hit me like a punch to the face. I quickly turned around and made a grab for Michael. Relief flooded me as I grabbed his wrist and hauled him to the warmth of the sun. I collapse on my back as he did the same on his stomach right next to me. I stayed there for a few seconds before it dawned on me that he was still hurt. It must've been awful with so much that had happened in…I don't even know how long. It was a close call for me and I didn't even know how Michael felt with that injury. I used my remaining strength and sat up to check on him when I felt him tackle me into a bone-crushing hug. I was surprised that he didn't wince in pain, but didn't dwell on it as I returned the gesture, burying my head into his neck.

We did it.

We did it.

That was all that had crossed my mind as I relished the moment, thankful for any deity that had kept both of us safe. I was thankful that Michael was safe. We just survived a real situation. We could have died. The only other times that something like this had happened were so few I could count them on one hand and even then they weren't so serious. I could've lost him, but I didn't. I was grateful. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost him. I held him tighter when I felt him do the same.

"Well," he said, "We made it."

I couldn't help, but smile. "Yeah, we did." I whispered back.

We sat there for what seemed like hours, but eventually let go of each other. We still had a goal to complete. We had to find the others and get off of this island. Lord knows what has happened. How much time has passed? Are the others even still alive? Reyes. Roth. Alex. Jonah. Everyone. We still had to keep going, but at least I had Michael with me.

We got up and walked to the edge of a cliff we were on, Michael stumbling a bit. We walked over to the edge and took in our surroundings. The sun was shining just above the horizon, some clouds blocking out part of it, but just enough for its rays of heat to hit us. The ocean could be seen for miles and miles. Near the island were little mountains jutting out of the water. Scattered near it were pieces of ships that had most likely ended up in some storm. I even saw some parts of a plane like a jet engine. There didn't seem to be life here and it was like a graveyard.

Where the bloody hell were we?

* * *

**AAAAAAAAAAND that's a wrap. I didn't get a chance to edit this so I'm pretty sure I made some mistakes, but I felt like I delayed you guys long enough.**

**NOTES: I am writing this story WHILE watching it on youtube to follow up so it takes slightly longer than my AU DMC fic should.**

**This will follow canon plot, but is not a novelization. I will make some changes to the plot that I found rather…redundant. And I don't even know what that means. Rude maybe? IDK. Repeat, I will change things or add some stuff just to make it Not feel like 'oh yeah we've already seen this before'.**

**As always, PLEASE if you have questions, comments, concerns, or feel like the story was really good (fingers crossed), Please leave it in a review or PM me. seriously. Reviews are like the life blood of a fanfic writer :P**

**Serious question: Does any veteran Fanfic writer think they could take me under their wing and help me?**

**Goodnight Peeps. I'm out**

**(0-0)**


	3. Can We Catch A Break?

**Finally edited this thing. **

**Reviews:**

**Backfromthedead: Thanx. I'm not really into sadism in the sex department, but hey whatever floats your boat. LOL ;)**

**Lazarus wolf: Thanks for the reviews. And for sticking around with the story. ****J**

**Katelynfinn: kool. I know how you feel. I hope that guy didn't die on the ship. (0-0)**

**NOTE: There is a bio of my OC down at the bottom. If you want to know more about who he is and how he will react to the situations in this story, go check it out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tomb Raider. I would have to be rich to own that.**

* * *

**One More Tomb Raider**

**Chapter 3: Can We Catch A Break?**

**Michael's POV**

"Come one Mike. Hurry up."

"Easy for you to say. You're on the other damn side."

"Come on you big baby. We still have to find the others."

"I don't see how you make it seem like this is easy. It's a log in the middle of a damn waterfall for Christ sakes. I don't even know how _you_ made it across and what if I fall?"

"If I could do it so can you."

"Oh now that's complete bullshit. Stop trying to goad me into this. It's not working Lara."

"Like I said, a big baby."

"…"

"…"

"Ugh. Damn you woman."

I groaned, but despite our little situation I had a visible smirk on my face.

It had been only a couple minutes ago that we had exited the cave and gone down the trail of the cliff. In our haste we had both spotted a lifeboat just off the shore, stories below us. Hope had flooded us as we realized the others might be near. Lara had said that they must've gone inland. It did make sense of course. Nothing out here, but water, water, and oh look more water. At least Roth, Reyes, Sam and the other guys could find some type of necessities further inland. I just hope there wasn't any wildlife too dangerous. We were on uncharted territory and who knows what lurks on this land. Roth always said to be careful. I just hope the old fuck takes his own advice and lives while we go look for him.

After that we had stopped at a nearby tree and Lara had a brilliant idea. Taking some branched out bark from the tree, she told me to lift up my sleeves. I did it when she said that she had a plan for my wound. She would rip the cloth apart to act as a wrapping for my injury. Not too small where it couldn't conceal it and not too big where there wasn't enough to wrap around my body. She slipped the bark through a slit in my sleeves and gripped both edges very close to the ends of the slit so it wouldn't break. She then rammed the bark outward to the shirt, ripping a hefty portion of the fabric. Damn. I really liked this shirt. We both then forcefully, yet carefully riped the fabric all around to my shoulders. We did the same with the other side too though we had to make our own cut since there wasn't any visible. After that, Lara had taken the two strands and tied them together around my waist when I lifted my shirt open. When she was done, she slid the covering down gently over my wound and tied it tight to add pressure to it. Now I looked like I had on a muscle shirt. I knew it still hurt and I needed professional help. One with real medical supplies. It was still nice that she cared enough though.

Feeling teensy bit better, we trudged on till we hit a crossroad. There was another gap, but this time there was a huge log in between for us to walk across. Behind it was a waterfall, water cascading down the top cliff. One small slip and we'd fall to our deaths. Hah. I mean talk about cliché, man. It was like this situation was taken out of a movie or something. Lara had decided to go first, giving advice to go slow. Like I said, I didn't even know how she got across. Okay total lie. I mean how she got across without slipping. It was like a quick in-and-out. She got it done in under a minute! She didn't seem scared or nothing where I was chickening out.

Come to think of it, it is pretty weird how she's taking all of this. I didn't expect her to get back her attitude so quickly. Hell, _I_ was still wondering how we got out of that death cave. I wouldn't exactly call her the tough one out of the two of us, but not exactly a girlish girl either. She was like a mix of the two personalities I guess. One moment she's a tomboy and the next she's like a princess or something. I only know that Roth and Sam are probably the only ones other than me that she acts like that with. Either way, I really thought she would act a little more…I don't know, frightened, serious, afraid, all of the above? I guess I wasn't one to talk since I was acting along with her. However, would she, or I for that matter, act like this if we didn't have each other? What if one of us had to do this alone? We might've been trained physically and mentally, but what if one of us had to go through with this alone? Would we act like this was an everyday thing? Would _she _differently if she didn't have me? I don't want to sound all high and mighty, but I wouldn't think so. I can't imagine doing this for real without Lara or someone by my side and I wouldn't want the same for Lara.

"Michael Davidson, get over her now."

I was brought out of my day dreaming as I saw Lara on the other side in a funny way. She had her arms crossed and she was leaning on one foot, the other tapping oh so lightly on the ground. She also had a little pouty face. I would've laughed if I wasn't so distraught of the height that I could fall.

I peered over the edge of the ground and to the descending waterfall. I guess I had to. We had to keep moving forward. "Sure sure British babe." She smiled a little at my nickname for her. I put my hands on my hips and inhaled before blowing out a long deep sigh. I reveled in the cool wind that was blowing my way before looking back at Lara. "I'll be over in a sec." I readied myself at the end of the log and began my steady walk of balance.

Let me tell you when a slug or a snail could've went faster than me, it was the truth. It was true that Lara had been with Roth before I had come into the picture and had gotten more time in her training. She had more experience than me in some areas where I had more skill on her in others and vice versa, but overall she was better than me if only by a bit. Don't tell her I said that though. I would never hear the end of it from her. Of course I knew deep down she would cross the log no problem and was only joking with her at the situation. That was expected from her when she had years on me with Roth. My lack of experience really had me going as what I had estimated a couple minutes had went by and I had gotten halfway through.

I looked up at Lara and all signs of joking were set aside. She had her hands on her knees and was staring at me intently. She didn't say anything, she didn't joke, and she didn't tease because she knew I needed to focus. She knew I needed to concentrate. She was like a judge watching a dancer perform, following my every move. I think she knew I would get across. I just needed time is all.

I was almost there. Each step I took was so slow and delicate that I was sure I looked like a tight rope walker. I could hear the wood slightly creaking beneath me and the smell of humid atmosphere filled the air. It was actually pretty peaceful, as scary as that thought was. Like I was an eagle in the sky feeling the wind flow right past me. I couldn't dwell on it though. As soon as I got within the distance, I leaped for the edge while Lara grabbed at me and pulled me in.

She looked at me while holding my arm as if to steady me upright. I looked back and nodded with a smile. "See. Piece of cake."

She smiled back. "Knew you could do it." She let go as we continued onward down the side of the narrow mountain-side. The cliff was strangely grassy and had moss growing on the side. It was a small sign that life was possible on this place. Where there are plants, there is life. Life needs all kinds of needs to survive. Maybe there were animals too, but I didn't let my hopes get too high.

* * *

**Lara's POV**

I was really grateful that Mike was here with me. It helps having to know I won't do this by myself. I was grateful that we had each other and thanked whatever force out there that they at least gave me that.

As we made a couple feet further on the mountain-side, nothing had really happened. There _was_ a little jump we had to make when we encountered another dead end at another waterfall a lot smaller than the last one, but it was no big deal. We rounded a corner after that and I mentally groaned. Michael was more outspoken and so he voiced his opinions.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."

He was right in his own way. We had hit another gap, but this one was slightly bigger than the first one. There was a waterfall _again_ and in between was a giant plane. It looked to be some sort of American one that had a star on its wing. It was fairly huge and was being held up by thick vines. The water flowed over it a little as it dangled in the air.

I looked over at Mike. He seemed to be slightly aggravated, but other than that was likely coming up with a plan to get around it. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we needed to cross the plane to get to the other side. He sighed heavily. "Well come one. Might as well try to die while looking for Roth's old ass."

I followed him as we went to the ledge that was made out of the planes other wing. It didn't look like it was going to fall, but I still had my worries. Mike put an arm on my shoulder, stopping me. I looked at him confusingly. "Booster Jump." He said. I looked at him for a moment before he explained, "Something tells me that that thing is not going to hold up twice for us."

I looked at the plane examining it. It did seem to be on its last hinges. It was all busted up. Wires were coming off and plates were showing. It really didn't seem to be able to support both our weights, at the same time nor individually. If I could get to the other side then Michael could get across without having to worry about figuring out a way for the plane to hold both of us. It was likely that the plane would barely hold up for the first person who went. It didn't seem like it would hold for a second time. I looked between the edge of the ledge and the edge of the opposite platform. It looked like I could make it. The Booster Jump wasn't really anything special, but it was real great for traversing long distances or getting to really high places. Mike had nicknamed it the Booster Jump and it sort of stuck.

I nodded back at Michael before getting as far as I could next to a branches jutting out of the rock. Michael clasped his hands together and knelt down on one knee. I braced myself for a minute or so before I took off on a dash. As soon as I got within distance, I leapt upward at an angle and one of my feet landed on his folded hands. Using his strength, Michael pushed against my weight and gravity and flung me over his head as far as he could to the other side. It seemed as I was lucky for the arc that I traveled in made me sure I could make it. In midair, I heard a loud snapping metal, but couldn't pay attention to it as I grabbed at the end of the edge. Good thing that there was something there to hold onto. I hit the obstacle just below my chin at my chest and grabbed on to the durable grass. I took a second to look back, but that was all I needed.

Michael was dangling at the cockpit of the plane, holding onto the plates as if they were pieces to a ladder. It looked like the added force of our action caused the thing to give way and collapse underneath him. I could only guess that he had acted on instinct and made a grab for rail, just as I did with my own problem.

It didn't appear to be any other way out as I saw him continue to move and maneuver around the plane. He started climbing up, hoping to get to the wing that was just a couple of feet to my right. If he could get to the end, he could just drop right by my side. My worries started to rise as I saw the planes materials just begin to fall apart. Metal coverings falling and even the engine had been lost to the shores below. All the while, he was stringing together a bunch of curse words. Typical.

He got to the outside of where the passengers cabin would be and was holding on to the wing like a spider monkey. He looked to the side and noticed a gap on the rail he was holding. Just like I knew he would, he made a leap for it without even thinking first. My fears returned as the rail gave, well almost gave out.

"Michael!" I called out. My feet had a mind of its own as I went as close as I could without falling to my death, worry overriding my consciousness. He swayed in the air by one hand and I sighed a deep sigh of relief as he got the other hand up and steadied himself. He shimmied his way over to me while letting a chorus of 'shit, shit, shit' come out his mouth and I let a small smile cross my face knowing he had made it. It didn't last long as the very side he was holding onto broke off and sent him down. Thankfully, the other side, my side, had remained intact and so he crashed a foot away from me as the rail of the wing had sent him at an angle.

I quickly rushed to his side, concerned about his state. He still had a nasty puncture wound and while I knew about medical situations, I did not have the supplies to treat him better. If it somehow reopened up before it could fully heal, he could bleed out.

I knelt at his side as he got up to a sitting position. "Michael." I said. I grabbed both of his shoulders, but before I could even comfort him and check if he was okay, I heard a loud skewing sound, like metal shredding against metal.

I looked up and was greeted by the sight of the rest of the wing completely falling towards us. I froze in fear at the sight as I was about to be crushed, but before the damn thing could even get near me Michael had tackled me to the ground, seconds away from being squished.

Michael lay on top of me as I looked to my side and saw the plane fall and apparently burn and crash from the height. I reared my head back in relaxation at him surviving that and we both took a moment to catch our breaths. He had me so worried, the bastard. After a second or so, Mike got off of me and pulled me up along with him. I gently pulled him into a hug and he returned it.

Not knowing what was on this island were problems enough. Having to find the others were problems enough. Having my own life at risk was enough. I don't know if I could handle Michael just dying on me. That was where I drew the line. I can't lose him. Not him or Roth or Sam or anybody close to me. I made a promise since the day I lost my parents. I hated feeling so sad, so lost, so scared. Losing somebody you love in front of you is the worst thing anybody could have done to them and I didn't want that happening again, especially to Michael.

Releasing the hold and realizing we needed to use our time wisely in searching for the others, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and we were off once again.

* * *

**Michael's POV**

Okay so props for me. Moments ago I had just save myself and Lara from certain death. We weren't out of the woods yet, but at least we were capable of protecting ourselves and each other. It was currently raining and had started to pick up. I loved the rain. Something about it was so sad, yet calm. We had continued down the path, easing our way into the narrow cliff-side that we had to press our back against the wall just so we wouldn't fall. Well I did. Lara just steadied herself with one hand where as I was more wary and cautious of the floor giving out. After that we had Boost Jumped again up on a flat wall that lead over on the other side of the path. I made a wall scramble and Lara had grabbed my hand and lifted me up as well. This is where we had spotted…

"Sam's pack!" Lara exclaimed. She immediately made a lung off of the platform we were on and dashed towards the pack. I couldn't blame her. I wanted to get out of here as well.

I dropped down onto the murky swamp-like floor _without_ taking a huge leap. I probably shouldn't have done that since I wailed in pain and grabbed my wound. Luckily, Lara was already making her way to the pack and was too far to hear me. Shit. I hoped it hadn't reopened. Medic was the one area where I _had_ paid attention to. I wondered if it was probably during that plane incident. I had landed pretty hard on my side, but I didn't want Lara to worry. We both had enough shit to deal with in our current situation. I could handle this myself. I pulled through tougher shit so I knew somehow I would be alright.

Ignoring the pain and forcing myself to move, I felt it subside a little as I made my way to Lara. She was digging through the box/pack that most likely the others had left behind for reasons unknown. I heard her earlier trying to call out for Sam and resisted one of my smart ass remarks. Of course Sam wouldn't be here. If she was then-

I turned my head. Something just moved. Beyond the little mini-camp we were at, there was yet another jump we had to make, but that didn't catch my attention. I made a couple steps forward to get a better look at it. What had captured my eyes was a silhouette figure behind a tree. It seemed to be leaning out to get a good look at me as well as I was at it. I could only see just its head and a little bit of its torso. I wanted to call out to the figure, but I was trapped. I don't know how to explain it, but those eyes. It was like a dark shadow that had those eyes. I would never forget those eyes. Red eyes filled with death and my whole body shook with fear. I froze. Rain pelted my form hard as it descended upon me. My breath hitched and I didn't dare to move, but my body didn't respond. I was shaking like I was out in the cold as all that was in the world seemed to be me and the silhouette. My palms started sweating and my eyes started watering, but I didn't look away. I feared that if I did, **IT** would get me. Those eyes. Those. Same. Damn. Eyes. They were-

"Michael!" I snapped out of my trance and looked toward Lara. I was sure that I looked like a lost kid in the woods with how I acted. I didn't even know how long I had been standing there. "What are you doing? I've been calling you for a minute now." She questioned.

"Th-The-" I couldn't even finish my sentence as I gestured towards where the figure was, but as I looked for the tree it was behind, I noticed it was gone! Disappeared like nothing. I blinked a few times as if it would show up again. I turned back at Lara who was looking at me confused and worried. She hadn't seen it?

I breathed out and calmed myself. "It's nothing. I just thought I saw one of the others." I lied. I couldn't tell her about what I saw. I just couldn't.

She didn't buy it. "But you were just staring. Why didn't you try calling out then. Maybe it really was one of them." I couldn't tell whether she was baiting me into another lie or if she genuinely didn't know why I was just as still as a statue. Was I really the only one who saw it?

I came up with another ready lie, hoping it would work. "I know, but I was looking far off. I didn't know whether it was them or not. That's why I was standing still. I was trying to get a good look at…well whatever I was looking at. It's gone now so we should just move on and be careful. That's the only path I see that we can take and I really don't know what else this island has in store for us." I added more detail into the mix and slowly got off topic as I continued to speak, hoping to stray her away from this conversation.

It worked! I could see her face turn into one of acceptance. "Okay. It is the only way so we should hurry. Oh wait." Before I had a chance to move she handed me a walkie-talkie. I looked down at it in my hand. It was a yellow one with a black background around the speaker. I looked at her as she smirked and waved her own walkie-talkie playfully in the air. "Just in case we both get lost. I tried to contact the others, but no deal." I nodded in response. We took off towards the ledge which was just a couple feet away, although I did it with masked fear hoping the figure was just in my mind.

Lara put a hand out to me, gesturing to wait. "Let me go first. It doesn't look stable." She was right actually. The edge seemed to have old withered wood running along it. It wouldn't hold us both. I suddenly got a strange sense of déjà vu, but shook it off. Man, this rain was picking up. We needed to find shelter or else risk getting a cold. We didn't have anything to treat a disease or anything like that and it would only slow us both down.

"Okay." I said. Lara looked back at the seven-foot high jump. I stepped as close as I could near the corner of the end just watching. She reeled back before jumping forward and making a grab for the end.

That's when the ground gave out beneath me.

"SHIT!" I tumbled down a steep muddy slope that was surrounded by moss and plants with rain cascading down the slide. I hit the slanted ground at an angle and it had force backing it up as I was sent into a front flip and landed on my ass. I might have opened my wound back up as I felt a searing pain in my back. I was hoping it was just a bruise and didn't have time to think about it as I slid down the whole way like a slide. The end was just dirt so the sudden stop that I had to make on the new, more stable, ground made me trip and fall on my knees. On instinct, I shot my hands forward to hold myself up in a sort of bowing stance. I stayed like that for a second. That impact really had the wind knocked out of me. I slowly made my way back to my feet, hissing at the pain that the fall had caused me when I heard something all too familiar.

"aaaaaaAhhhhhHHHHHHH!"

"Oof."

A second later I found myself flat on me back, legs bent slightly and making a very silent high pitched sound. I laid there while Lara, out of nowhere, came at my side looking dazed a little. I stopped her with one of my hands from advancing any further. I just got my lungs knocked out and needed to remain still.

It looked like I just the ground just had to collapse on me…again! I didn't feel any pain in my side thankfully. Though my back hurt like a bitch. I can only speculate that Lara had fallen or lost her grip or something and had joined me in this sliding death trap. Just as I was getting up, she must've crashed into my legs which sent my flying in the air for a couple seconds and landing flat on my ass. I hoped Lara wasn't as bad as I was. Why did we need to get stuck on this island _now_?

So there I was, panting like no tomorrow as I regained my bearings and the pain vanished after a while. I sat up and looked at Lara who was just sitting there, wanting to do something to see if I was alright. I closed my eyes and rested for a small while then reopened them to look at her. "You okay?" I asked.

"She looked at me with a 'what the fuck' face before saying, "Seriously?" She made her way at my side and lifted me up. "I just crashed into you and made a hard landing and your asking if I'm alright? What about you? What about your injury?" she said in her British accent.

I chuckled a bit and looked up at the sky. It was dark. Very dark. It had also begun to rain hard with the water droplets hitting on both of us. There was small thundering in the distance as I heard a loud boom coming from them. It looked like the start of a violent storm. Thoughts strayed back to the ship. It was probably sunken to the bottom of the ocean right about now. If these storms could take out The Endurance, I didn't want to be caught up in one of these things. Always better to be safe than sorry.

I looked back at her. "I'm fine. Only think I bruised my back pretty bad though." I guess I concluded that she alright. She didn't seem to be hurt. She had to have seen me go down and prepared for some kind of drop allowing her to slide down more carefully. Didn't help with knocking me off my feet, but still. Why did life have to be so mean?

I looked back up. Oh Fuck! The storm was picking up fast. I could literally _see_ the clouds moving and forming a vortex. I looked back at her and knew she was thinking the same thing. I grabbed Lara's hand and made a light jog down to the narrow, rocky valley we were in. "Come one. That storm isn't going to stop for us."

We maneuvered our way down the path, going further inland. Thank God. I was tired of those heights. Not scared, but just plain annoyed at having to be patient hoping the next step wouldn't be my last. The path led us to a low covering with a rock sticking out from above on the side of the mountain. It had about waist high height to it so we really had to crouch down to get through it.. Lara ducked under it and went on through following behind her. It's not like we had anywhere else to go.

I just prayed my dumb luck that I didn't fall for a third time that day.

* * *

**Lara's POV**

I slid out under the low level rock and quickly covered myself. This storm was getting worse, just like The Endurance. The air was already humid and I coughed a little from the thickness. I heard Mike get out from under the exit, but didn't bother to look as I wiped away the excess water that had dripped on my face. Luckily, the rocky mountain had a covering over us that sheltered us from the rain. Good. I didn't want neither of us getting sick.

My face brightened up as I saw a little used fire place. "Look Mike." I gestured towards it. He saw it and beamed at the sight. It was drenched a little from the rain, but it looked like it would work. Obviously no one had used it in a while and looked like it was abandoned as it didn't have any wood in it whatsoever. If I could get it going, we would be able to gather some warmth from it.

I pulled Michael over to the fireplace/camp. I made him sit down, his knees bent and his arms folded around them, before telling him, "Wait here."

He seemed to relax a bit, but looked up at me. "What are you going to do?" He looked a little sleepy, but shrugged it off.

"Don't worry. I'm just going to get some wood for the fire. I got a match from Sam's pack so we should be able to get one going." He seemed to like that idea.

"Okay. I'll just be here." He then dropped his head into his legs and I heard him let out a sigh before grabbing his own radio and trying to contact the others. That was weird. Normally he would join me or convince me that he should do it. He always helped with even the slightest of things. He did look rather worn out so I didn't push it any further.

I went back to the entrance of our 'cozy little home' and gathered up some wood for our mini-camp. Not before getting a drink from the running water of the side of the mountain. I hadn't had a drink since this morning from the ship. I was thirsty and so cold as I shivered from air. The temperature had dropped so suddenly and I found myself shaking as I carried the bundle back over to where Michael was sitting at.

"Is any one listening? Please respond." I heard him mutter out. He had his eyes closed and his right hand lazily at his ear. His voice sounded grumbled and I won't blame him. It's been hard on the both of us.

I placed the stacks of wood aside and put a hand on his shoulder, stirring him from his dazed state. He opened his eye and took a glance at me. I gave him one of my best smiles and was rewarded with a grin back at me. Oh well. I'll take what I can get.

He helped me to pile up the wood in a cone-like shape, all the wood pointing at the center. I closed around the fireplace as close as I could get to it so the air wouldn't snuff out the fire. We only had one match from what I discovered earlier. I took out the match from the lighter pack and set it aflame on the side. I slowly leaned down and carefully dropped it in the center. Yes! It worked. Almost immediately the flames had spread out and I blew on it to increase its oxygen supply. The more oxygen fire has, the more it burns. Soon enough, the whole thing was alit. The light from the fireplace had spread out and was slowly giving us heat. However, I was still shivering from the affects of the atmosphere. The fire would take a minute or so to fully warm us both up and it felt really good, but it would take some time and I was still shaking a little.

"Hey Lara." I looked over at Mikey. I saw that he had stretched out his legs and was patting his thighs as if to say 'sit over here'. I smiled as I knew he wanted me to stay warm, but was also using it as an excuse to cuddle with me. My smile widened as I crawled my way over to him and sat gently on his lap. I felt him wrap both arms around my waist and pull me closer as he rested his chin on the top of my head. I leaned back into him, put my hand on his, and closed my own eyes while I sighed contently, reveling in the feeling. We hadn't had much time together when this whole thing had started. It made me fill up with warmth and I'm not talking about the fires heat. I wished we could stay exactly like this, but I knew it wouldn't last.

Point in case when the radio went off. I made a wide-eyed grab for it, but Michael grabbed it first. I was about to argue when he shook his head and uttered, "It's just static. It wouldn't get through anyways."

He was probably right. This storm was interfering with what little signal this place had left. It's not like we would get any response out in this weather. I slowly sank my hand back onto Michael's when he took his and started rubbing my muscles on my arms. They were obviously the coldest part on my body as all I had to wear was a strap t-shirt. Michael had once called it a women's 'muscle shirt' whatever that was. I sank back into his arms and enjoyed the heat of his body and the fire.

We stayed like that for a good while, heating up each passing second as I didn't even know how long we remained there. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes as I didn't have a watch on and we just listened to the thunder raging on. It had slipped into a silence, save for the loud booms of lightning, and I didn't like it. I felt the need to voice my thoughts right now. We needed to talk and get this off our chest. We needed to communicate because I didn't know if we would get a moment of peace like this again for a while.

I began and whispered, "A lot has happened in the past 24 hours." I felt him shift behind and underneath me as he acknowledged my statement. "I didn't expect to end up here. Just this morning I had gotten up and ate breakfast with you and the crew."

I felt him nod in understanding. "I know what you mean. I didn't expect to get stuck in someplace like this. I'm still not believing it or at least not fully. Maybe we can find Roth and Sam and everybody else as soon as possible and get out of this mess."

I nodded my head, though I didn't know whether I believed it or not. It was like this island didn't want us to leave. Metaphorically speaking. We had both almost died more than I can remember. It was only due to our training that we had the skill and knowledge to overcome those obstacles.

I began to gather another thought. One I needed answered. "Do you think it will be that easy? Are we really going to get out of here?"

He didn't answer. Not this time. He just seemed to hold onto me harder. I realized I probably just ruined the mood. He didn't seem so sure and I tried to divert the gloomy conversation.

I looked over and grabbed my camera from my pocket. Amazingly, it hadn't damaged from our journey. I turned to Mike and said, "Hey, remember these." I showed him the camera and just like that, all doubt was lost in his eyes as he smirked at the device.

"Hey," he said, drawing it out as much as he could, "Let's take a look at this." We both held the camera in front of me, his head leaning on my shoulders so he could get a good look. I fiddled with the recordings that we had on. I didn't want a picture because Sam always had the bloody thing and never took one. I was almost always doing _something _and she was always recording everything. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Michael had started one already and I further cuddled up with him, watching the video on the screen.

* * *

**3rd/Camera Recording POV**

The screen lit up as Lara could be seen sitting at her desk, working. She had multiple things strewn on her desk from a laptop to papers to maps that had various information.

Sam could be heard in the background, obviously holding the camera. "Here's the soon-to-be world famous archaeologist, Lara Croft, in her native habitat." Sam said it in a playful tone. She was plainly joking with Lara, who had yet to look up from her work.

The camera moved to the left revealing a mirror which reflected Sam holding up her recorder. The mirror only reflected from her chest up and she appeared to be wearing a black tank top with a brown jacket. "She's on the hunt for the lost kingdom of Yamatai, home to the fabulous Himiko, mythical Sun Queen and ancestor of yours truly." She did a perfect job of representing a documenter.

The camera panned back to Lara who had finally looked up from her pile and at Sam. "Sam," she said, "This is serious." She had said it in a half-serious, half-relaxed tone.

A voice, much deeper than Sam's, could be heard off-screen. "Oh sweetie I know." A man, now identified as Michael, had come from behind Lara and put his hands on her shoulders. He started to rub and massage her to try and ease her stress and spoke, "Sam's just trying to lighten the mood here. Everyone's so on edge." He leaned down and brushed his lips to her check for a moment before pulling back and continuing, "What are you so worried about?"

Lara put her head down and gave a very tired yet relaxed sigh as Mike continued to do his back-rubs and Sam moved closer to the two. "I'm close to something. I'm sure of it." She leaned back into Michael. "I just don't know if the others will listen." She turned her gaze into a depressed, doubtful one as she stared off into nothing. "Or even if they should."

Now it was Sam's turn to speak. "Lara, you know this stuff better than anyone! Seriously."

"Yeah," Michael said, "We aren't just saying this to make you feel better. Sam trusts you. Roth trusts you." He leaned down to look Lara at eye level. "I trust you."

Sam couldn't help it. "Awww. You see folks. She does have a life." Lara and Mike both smiled at that before Mike turned back to Lara.

"You got this babe." After he said that, her smile grew even wider. "Now let's go take a break, okay?"

Lara leaned forward and made a face of mock-defeat. "Okay, okay!" The camera started moving backwards, showing Mike leaning slightly on Lara's back. "And guys…thanks."

The camera scrambled a bit before showing Sam. She shook her head a little as she spoke, "She's not always this serious, you know?" she smiled at the camera before turning it off.

* * *

The camera started back on again and showed Jonah cooking and stirring in a pot. The setting was in the kitchen by the looks of it. The camera panned to the left a little and showed Roth and Grim arguing about something sports related. The device then moved again to the left revealing Whitman and Lara having a small fight.

"How can you suggest I'm not serious about this expedition, Lara?" Whitman flayed his arms while speaking, clearly trying to convince her. "It's not just Sam's family," he gestured to the camera, or more likely Michael who was holding it at the time, for some reason and resumed, "funding us, I've put my savings on the line too."

It was Reyes turn to speak now who was sitting and eating at the table to the left of Whitman. "We all have some kind of stake in this." She looked up at him. "The funding won't last forever Whitman."

Lara interrupted with her side of the argument, speaking with urgency. "That's precisely why we should push east, not west."

Whitman wasn't convinced. He seemed to be annoyed at the 'pointless' argument. "No one believes Yamatai is that far east. The books simply don't support it!" It seemed like he had a point.

Sam, however, was ready with a good comeback. "Well, whoever wrote those books never found Yamatai." Michael turned the camera to Sam as she spoke before turning back to Lara as she talked.

"I've talked to Roth about this." She pointed at a map on the table. "There's no point in following in other people's footsteps, Dr. Whitman."

He _still_ didn't give in and shook his head back and forth. "I refuse to bet my reputation on your hunch!" He pressed his hand to his chest to signify his 'dominance'. "I'm the lead archaeologist here."

"An' when were you last in the field without a TV crew behind you?" Grim and Roth had stopped their arguing and, just like everyone else, was now focused on Lara and Whitman's problem.

Of course, Whitman had to voice his opinions and turned to Grim. "I've got 30 years of experience, 2 PhD's, one in East Asian history. So why don't you just stick to boats, Mr. Grim?"

"Ship, Dr. Whitman. It's a ship. Don't need a PhD to know that."

Whitman out his hands on his hips and sighed as the arguing still continued with Lara saying, "Look. Going east will take us directly into the Dragon's Triangle. That's where we need to go."

Jonah butted in. "Lara, my little bird, I'd follow you almost anywhere, but that place has bad energy."

"Bad storms more like it." Alex had interjected. "Makes the Bermuda Triangle look like Disney World…sign me up."

Once again, Lara had important, or at least to some, information and tried to ease everyone on her side. "The stories about Queen Himiko say she could summon storms. Myths are usually based on some version of the truth. What if Yamatai was somewhere in the Triangle itself?"

Alex had to ruin it with his laptop, which displayed a whole bright red area. "Look, this is the satellite imagery from inside the Dragon's Triangle."

Sam voiced her concern. "That doesn't look good." It really didn't. There was literally no blue area that signified calmness.

Grim also spoke. "If it's wet, I can sail on it."

Whitman tried one last time. "Oh don't ell me your seriously cons-"

"Enough!" Roth had said. That seemed to shut everyone up as he got up from where he was sitting. "Reyes is right, we don't have funds to piss about. It's now or never. Lara is offering fresh ideas and a plan. I'm the captain here, it's my decision. We're going into the Dragon's Triangle."

That officially ended the argument as Whitman uttered a small, "Why am I even here," and immediately left the room.

No one missed Lara and Roth staring behind the camera, most likely at Michael, as they looked on. Michael had not spoken a word throughout the whole event and it didn't sit right with them. They brushed it off and continued on with a plan.

* * *

The camera opened up to Sam holding the camera in reverse, showing her face. She seemed to be smiling. The setting looked like they were outside. It was night time and the sky was completely dark, save for a couple stars. Behind Sam was some sort of DJ record player with a record already in place. It seemed to be outside in the night by the front of the Endurance. "Come on Mike! Are you ready?!" She called out off-screen.

Michael could be heard somewhere off. "Yeah send her in!"

Sam cupped her mouth with one hand and shouted, "Okay Lara. Come out now!"

The camera zoomed over to the side of the wall behind her revealing the woman in question, in her original plain cargos, boots and shirt. She traveled down the stairs that were built on the side and she slid her hand on the railing. "Okay guys. What's the deal? Its 3 a.m. in the-" She stopped as music suddenly started to play when Sam started the music and gasped at the sight.

On the opposite side of the area stood Michael clad in his best suit. He hadn't really packed for being fancy though. He had on black shoes that could pass for the military and old college pants. He had on the best of buttoned up shirts he could wear in the seas, it being plain white with thin blue stripes running across it and the collar folded.

All of a sudden, Michael started singing.

**My love must be a kind of blind love.**

Lara's eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. It seemed like she knew this type of song

**I can't see anyone but you.**

Michael started taking steps forward to Lara. She was still frozen in shock. Michael appeared to take time with his steps. He spoke with such passion. He circled her so slowly while he moved to the rhythm, her eyes never leaving his as she still had her hand covering up her mouth in shock. He looked up at the sky as he spoke the next lines.

**Are the stars out tonight?**

He looked back at her and shook his head in the next one.

**I don't know if it's cloudy or bright.**

He took a step forward coming nose-to-nose with her and looked lovingly into her eyes.

**I Only Have Eyes For You, Dear.**

He took one of her hands in his and gestured to the big moon that was in the dark skies.

**The moon maybe high.**

He pulled her close by the waist and she snapped out of her trance. She had small tears in her eyes and a smile that would light up the whole world. She wrapped her hands around his neck and he still had her close to his body as they danced in the vacant area to the romantic music. He then closed his eyes and reeled his head back.

**But I can't see a thing in the sky,**

He then released her and took both hands in his and put his forehead on hers, saying the last line he had planned for the night.

**'Cause I Only Have Eyes For You.**

He then whispered the three little words that made her tears finally spill out.

"I love you, Lara baby." He said it so gently that only she could hear it.

She smiled as her cheeks got drenched. "I love you too, Michael."

They then shared a kiss as the recording ended.

* * *

The camera had to be stopped due to preserving battery life. Three videos was all they could get for now, but it didn't matter. The camera was completely forgotten as Lara and Michael shared a passionate kiss that ended up with Lara tackling him to the ground. The tape had opened up both of their feelings back up at that moment.

Lara hungrily attacked Mike's lips. Michael responded just the same. They managed to drown out all the sounds of the island and just relished in having each other. Lips smacked and hands roamed. She had hers on his shoulders and he had his on her back, slowly sliding down to her butt. She moaned into the kiss and enjoyed the pleasant sensations. Mike, however, had gotten bold and now released the kiss and started nibbling on her neck. One of his hands creeped up and gently caressed her left breast. God, how he would sneak glances at those jugs. Lara closed her eyes and moaned slightly louder than last time. He sucked and slightly nipped at her sweet silky skin, he was sure it would make hickeys. Her breath quickened and she started to pant as he made his cycle on her form.

Lara had started to regain her senses and had forced a _whole lot_ of will power in pushing off he had done something wrong, he started to speak before he was cut off as Lara put a finger to his lips. "It's nothing," she said, "I just…just don't…I'm not ready yet. Even if we weren't running for our lives, I'm not ready. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes in regret at pushing him away.

Michael had understood. They had almost headed into the _act._ Whenever they were alone, they just made out, never going anything farther than groping and mild touching. She had stated earlier on that _that_ was a sacred act that should not be taken lightly. She cherished him just like he did, but she still had yet to have the courage to 'do it'. He had, and still, respected her decision. He would wait when she was ready.

He would wait because she was worth it.

"Its okay babe," he said, "I told you before that whenever you're ready, I'll be here." He put his hands on both sides of her cheeks and gave her a longing kiss before replying those words they had heard on the camera a moment ago, "I love you."

She shined at that and smiled. "I know. I love you too." She gave him one last peck before resting her head on his chest and the both of them slipping away into the warmth of each other and further into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

**Yahoo. Got that renewed. Surprisingly there wasn't that much I needed to redo.**

**Anybody got an idea on what Michael was looking at in the middle of the story. Hint is that the Bio has something to do with it.**

**BIO:**

**Name: Michael Davidson**

**Nationality: American/British.**

**Hair color: Black**

**Eye color: Blue**

**Appearance: Black boots. Deep blue Jeans. Black plain T-shirt (Now a torn muscle shirt). Hair is short, going just above his ears.**

**Personality: Never afraid to speak his mind or voice his thoughts. While he tries to remain tough, he in reality doesn't want the people he cares for to worry. Though he might not seem like it, he has a big heart for those he considers friends. He is most of the time brash and never gives respect, saying that it is earned. His loud mouth always seems to get him on trouble.**

**History: At a very young age, his parents had traveled around the world as archaeologists, going on many adventures to various places. Earlier on, when his parents were trying to discover the remnants of a mythical place and being, they were brutally murdered. Michael was the one that survived. He was taken into London, the town they were staying at the time, and brought to an orphanage. It was years later that he would take up the mantle of his family business in archaeology. During his late teens and early manhood, he was discovered by a man named Roth. He couldn't adopt him as Michael had refused as he had gained an issue with self independence over the years. Roth had made frequent enough visits to the point that it was expected from Michael that he would come. When he was old enough at the age of 18, Roth had confronted him one day. He had noticed the boys curiosity in archaeology in the time of their relationship and told the Mike that if he wanted to, he could go to UCL to study even further in archaeology, but on one condition. Roth had to 'adopt' and be the guardian of Michael and also train him in becoming a better man. Wanting to finally get out of the place and 'make his parents proud', he said yes. It was there that he had met Sam and Lara, Roth's other apprentice. They formed strong bonds with their connections and in some time in the college years, Michael and Lara had started a relationship while training under Roth. The need for adventure shrouded them as at the age of 21, they decided to set out for their first expedition. With confidence and a ship courtesy of Roth, they set sail to uncover the mystery of Yamatai and Himiko, the Sun Queen.**

**As always, PLEASE if you have questions, comments, concerns, or feel like the story was really good, Please leave it in a review or PM me.**

**Done editing.**

**YEAH!**

**_ t(-.-t) *Not cool, bro***


	4. Dawn of a New Day

Computer Broke… I feel so bad for waiting so long, but my explanation is down below. That is if anybody even cares. Probably hate me, but I guess I deserve it. Fuck it. I want to finish this story and just got the CPU so hate me all you want.

* * *

**One More Tomb Raider**

**Chapter 4: Dawn of a New Day**

_Where was he?_

_He didn't know._

_It was all pitch black around him._

_What was he standing on?_

_Darkness._

_What was he looking at?_

_Darkness._

_He couldn't see anything for miles._

_But he could hear all too well._

_Voices in the midst._

_It was all mumbling._

_Whispers that he couldn't make out._

_Why was he here?_

_Was this even a place?_

_All of a sudden, the muttering stopped._

_A few seconds of silence wee followed by a dreaded, ear-piercing scream._

_Shattering of something followed by a sickening thud._

_He looked all around him, but found nothing._

_No sign that the black darkness had changed._

_He searched all around for the source of the sound._

_He stopped when he spotted something from the corner of his eyes._

_He was filled with a frightening sensation when he realized what it was._

_Two simple red lights floating aimlessly far away into the dark void._

_But upon closer inspection, one could see it was no light at all._

_In fact, it was two eyes._

_Just two simple red eyes watching him in the distance._

_For anyone, it would just creep the hell out of them._

_For anyone, they would run the other way._

_But for him, it filled him with horror._

_It was those eyes._

_Those same devilish eyes that followed him and watched him wherever he went._

_And they were getting bigger._

_No._

_Not bigger._

_ Closer._

_God._

_They were getting closer._

_He wanted to run._

_To scream._

_But he was frozen._

_As if he wasn't in control of his body._

_Too late._

_They closed upon him like he was some sort of prey._

_Too late._

_They had already engulfed him._

_._

_._

_._

_He was always too late._

* * *

**Michael's POV **

I awoke with my eyes shooting open as fast as a hummingbird would beat its wings. I gasped out for breath as sweat trickled down my face. I just kept panting in and out, in and out. If I wasn't so sure I had been asleep just a second ago, I would be convinced I was just running a goddamn marathon. I sat up holding my chest as I attempted to catch my breath, clenching my eyes as I felt a mild headache squirm its way into my skull. What the hell was that? I can't seem to control my breathing. Why had that dream felt so real? So much that it had caused a reaction like this. God, I can't get that damn thing out of my head. '_Those eyes. God, I can't get them out of my head._' I sat up with my knees together touching my forehead as I leaned forward and clasped my hands tightly over my head. I shut my eyes as I blew fresh air past my lips in a deep sigh.

"Michael!"

I knew who had called. The same English accent that I had come to adore. I didn't bother looking up. I just couldn't. I needed to get my head on straight. I felt her come to my side and put her delicate hands on my shoulders. I needed air. I needed to clear my head.

"Michael, are you okay?" No Lara. I'm not. Or at least that's what I should have said. I didn't want to tell her. I saw no reason to. It was just a bad dream. A nightmare. She didn't need to worry over something so petty, especially with what's going on. It was just one lousy nightmare. It wasn't anything serious and I needed to make sure that we focused on meeting up with the others.

"Yeah," I muttered, "yeah I'm fine." I actually thought I was. I calmed down, if only a little. My panting had ceased and now I was just relaxing in my own comfortable lap with my girl at my side.

"Are you sure?" she asked with worry. I looked up from my legs to see her face filled with concern. She had her eyes giving me this innocent look that I thought always made her cute and she was tilting her head to the side just slightly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I confirmed. "It was just a bad dream, that's all." She seemed to take it as the truth and I was relieved that I didn't have to argue with her about it. I moved to get up from the hard cave floor when a loud grumbled noise echoed a little in the cave. I covered my hands over my stomach and a groan escaped my lips. I hadn't eaten in a while, about a couple hours before the ship crashed.

Lara had heard my belly's discomfort and gave me a grin. "You hungry?" she questioned in a tone that a mother would give to a child. I chuckled a little, half glad that I had avoided suspicion and half that she could still crack jokes. In truth, I was really hungry and could go for anything right now. I doubt that small bag had anything to satisfy the both of us and if Roth's training taught us anything, it's that where there's green, there's life. Basically, it meant that where there is grass, trees, plants and vegetation, there is life. Animals, herbivores mostly, have to eat plants and animals eat those animals. There was bound to be something edible on this island.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Can't be anything in that bag and there has to be some kind of creatures living out here worth eating. We thinking about going inland to look for them?" It was common sense. Most of the wildlife had to be closer to the center of the island. I didn't have any problem with eating some deer or antelope or whatever was out there as long as it was cooked. I don't know if I could speak for Lara though. She was always a bit squeamish about killing and eating wild creatures. Roth always said that it was for survival, but she still seemed a bit off put by taking away life. I could understand. Even I didn't want to murder something living if I could help it, but this was necessary.

I tried to stand up, but two things stopped me. One was a pain in my side. Probably where the gash was. Not enough to make me flinch, but enough to let me know it was there. It didn't necessarily hurt. It had a burning sensation to it, but like a warm towel was wrapped around it. The second was a hand, Lara's hand, on my chest and shoulders pushing me down.

"Oh no," she stated, "you're not going anywhere." She managed to push me down and I didn't fight back. It actually felt good to sit down. "You're staying here. I'm getting the food." Wait. What?

I looked at her and all I could muster up was a slight, "Huh?" She wanted to go _alone_. Why would she want to go alone? I was perfectly fine. Who knows what was out there in the wild. It wasn't just food, but predators that would like to pounce on anything that moves. Wolves, snakes, spiders, and who knows what else is out there. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

She must've understood my reason for the question because she voiced her thoughts. "Look, I know your wound is still fresh and I don't want to risk it getting infected or reopening. Here let's take a look." She made a move to grab the edge of my shirt and I didn't stop her. It must've been hours before I woke up from taking that nap and I wanted to see it for myself. She lifted my shirt only slightly and used her other hand to lift the makeshift bandage out of the way, the blood having been seeped and blended in with the fabric. As I hissed as she brushed against it, I looked down at my angle and saw the reason for the burning. It was no bigger than a flat dime. I could probably put my pinkie through it and the impalement had softened a bit, but still looked rough around the edges. The blood had been washed away in the rain a little and I could see some remnants of red color on my skin. There was a small puncture where the impalement was and the skin around it was jutting out from the removal of the rod. It looked better, but still not good enough and we both knew it.

"See. You still haven't made a recovery. Besides whatever is out there, I can handle it. I'm a big girl Mike. I can take care of myself." I knew she was right and I knew she was worried. I would be too if our roles were reversed and I would probably want the same thing. To keep her safe. But I was better. I knew I was.

I felt something on my cheek and looked up from my hip to see Lara caressing my face. She had used her hand to turn my whole head to see her. She was giving me that same look she gave me every time when she wanted something bad and I knew what was coming. "Please… for me." she whispered in a caring tone.

Let it be known that everything has a weakness. Its common sense. No matter how big something is, how indestructible you think something is, everything always has a weakness. No matter how vague or unclear it may seem, it's always there. It's just a matter of finding it. Mine was Lara. It might sound cliché, but let me tell you something. When your girl or when your man is really, _really_ begging for something and looks at you in a way that just makes all the bad stuff in you just go away and says those three exact same words… how can you say no?

I sigh, knowing I failed before I even started. I can never say no to her when she's using _that_ move. "Fine, but you keep your walkie on and if you're not here in fifteen minutes, I'm coming anyway. Don't try to drag all of it, only take what you need. " I know she can handle herself, but I just want some reassurance that she'll be okay. She's a smart girl. If she says she can do something, she can do it. I really don't know if she can kill an animal, but we both know we had to.

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me into a hug. I slip mine into her waist and hug her back, reveling in her warmth. Then it hits me. "Wait," I say, "how are you going to hunt anyway?" I mentally slap myself for not thinking sooner. Our bag only came with so much and a hunting rifle or even a simple knife wasn't exactly going to fit.

She pulled back and actually takes time to think about it. A few seconds pass and in the end, all she does is smile. "Don't worry. I'll think of something." I don't know why, but I believe her. She can get past something as simple as getting a weapon.

In a few minutes, she gears up for whatever useful thing we have in our supply. She has her walkie-talkie ready and is set to go out. I get up, mindful of my injury, and walk right to her. She hugs me once again, making it last and I kiss her on the cheek for good luck. She takes one last look before striding on down the hill that sits outside our little cave, littered with moss and plants. Without company of any sort, I make my way to the fireplace that had been put out in the middle of the night. I think about taking another nap, but I'm not even sleepy at all. I really have nothing to do without her. So to bide my time, I reminisce on the good times. I decide to look back on one very important time that started it all. How I became the man I am today.

The day I met Roth… and how all this crazy shit happened.

* * *

Explanation: About a couple days after the last chapter which was months ago, the computer that had Microsoft word on it had a virus. A serious one. Im not a computer geek but we had to get a new one which took a couple months because my family isn't rich. June is when we got the computer, but because I was the last one with it, they didn't let me use it until a couple weeks ago cause they didn't trust me anymore with there computer. I don't know if it really was me, but I just got it a couple weeks ago, but then we had to get the Microsoft word installed. I was just working on this yesterday. Believ it if you want but its the truth

Lazarus wolf: Thanks man

Bubbahcakes: I really don't consider this a good story myself but thanks anyway.

I know this one was short but it was sort of a chapter to let you guys know im still here

Anyways, again im sorry and deserve any responses I get. I'll be working on this again real soon…hoping this computer doesn't break


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